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Car thief jailed for four years

A BURGLAR has been jailed for four years after he admitted breaking into two homes and stealing the vehicles outside.

Declan Williamson, of Kingfisher Green, Greater Leys, Oxford, also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicle taking after he caused a four-car accident in a stolen car.

John Upton, prosecuting, said on November 8 last year the 24-year-old and his co-defendant Aaron Gaughan, of Falcon Close, Oxford, were spotted on CCTV in the Shush nightclub in Wantage.

He said they could be seen in the club late in the evening buying about £200 worth of alcohol, including a £110 bottle of vodka, before leaving together.

Mr Upton said in the early hours Williamson broke into a house in Manor Road, Wantage, and stole car keys and a Volkswagen Golf from outside.

The barrister told Judge Patrick Eccles he was then involved in a car crash not far from the scene of the burglary in which three other vehicles were damaged. Gaughan, 23, was arrested at the scene of the accident and admitted handling stolen goods and aggravated vehicle taking, Mr Upton explained.

He added that on February 28 this year Williamson carried out a similar burglary in Mickle Way, Forest Hill, and stole a Suzuki motorbike worth £8,000.

His barrister Rebecca Foulkes said both burglaries had been impulsive and only happened because her client had been drinking heavily.

Ronan McCann, defending Gaughan, said although he had a poor record he was trying to turn his life around and had found full-time work.

Judge Eccles told Williamson – who has 17 convictions for 49 offences – he had a “really anti-social” record.

He added: “If you don’t stop offending when you are released from prison eventually the courts really will throw away the key.”

Judge Eccles told Gaughan – who has 18 convictions for 40 offences – that he would suspend his sentence in light of his efforts to change.

He sentenced Gaughan to eight months, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work, an exclusion from licensed premises for six months and told him to pay £1,000 compensation.